Banning assault weapons equals fewer gun massacres

Tuesday , January 15, 2013 - 2:45 PM

Cameron Morgan

Editor,

With gun control back in the headlines, it is time for all reasonable Utahns to stand firmly behind a ban on assault weapons and high-volume clips and to promote the strengthening of background checks when buying guns. The U.S. is host to the highest gun-related homicides of any developed nation in the world and this is simply not acceptable. We have a moral obligation to take simple steps to reduce this violence by making it harder for the mentally ill to obtain high-powered weaponry and large ammunition clips.

Additionally, no American needs an automatic rifle and a quick glance at Japan, Australia, Canada, and Germany will show that banning these weapons doesn’t give the upper hand to criminals, but instead results in far fewer gun-related massacres and gun-related homicides.

We can and should ask Utah’s elected officials to cut down on gun violence here and nation-wide by enacting these common-sense initiatives.